Description: From the moment she glimpses her idol on
Broadway, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) strives to upstage
Margo Channing (Bette Davis). After cunningly stealing
Margo’s role, Eve disrupts the lives of anyone close to the
actress in this timeless cinematic masterpiece that earned a
record 14 Oscar® Nominations*, winning six — including Best
Picture!

***

Jealousy, manipulation, and betrayal unfold in this tour de
force drama of an ambitious wannabe who sets her sights...
on stealing the spotlight from legendary stage actress Margo
Channing. Insecurities and designer gowns abound as Margo
desperately tries to hold onto her friends and career.

***

Taking the reins of power from the great actress Margo
Channing (Bette Davis), the cunning Eve (Anne Baxter)
manoeuvres her way into Margo’s Broadway role, becomes a
sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo’s
director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the
cynical drama critic (George Sanders) sees through Eve,
admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit. Marilyn
Monroe co-stars in this acclaimed classic, which won six
Academy Awards and received the most nominations (14) in
film history.

The Film:

The good old legitimate theatre, the temple of Thespis and Art, which
has dished out a lot of high derision of Hollywood in its time, had
better be able to take it as well as dish it out, because the worm has
finally turned with a venom and Hollywood is dishing it back. In "All
About Eve," a withering satire—witty, mature and worldly-wise — which
Twentieth Century-Fox and Joseph Mankiewicz delivered to the Roxy
yesterday, the movies are letting Broadway have it with claws out and no
holds barred. If Thespis doesn't want to take a beating, he'd better
yell for George Kaufman and Moss Hart.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Kaufman and Mr. Hart might even find themselves
outclassed by the dazzling and devastating mockery that is brilliantly
packed into this film. For obviously Mr. Mankiewicz, who wrote and
directed it, had been sharpening his wits and his talents a long, long
time for just this go. Obviously, he had been observing the theatre and
its charming folks for years with something less than an idolater's rosy
illusions and zeal. And now, with the excellent assistance of Bette
Davis and a truly sterling cast, he is wading into the theatre's middle
with all claws slashing and settling a lot of scores.

Image : NOTE:The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.

All About Eve
looks fabulous
on
Blu-ray
from Fox. It jumps heads-and-tails above the artifact
-ridden DVDs - which were actually strong for that SD format.
I wouldn't say detail is the biggest beneficiary (although
every visual facet improves) but it is a big
beneficiary!. It is probably as sharp as it will get in
this, or any, digital medium. It does look significantly
crisper but contrast and film-like thickness and grain
really give this 1080P transfer a very impressive
edge. This
is dual-layered with the two-plus-hour film taking up over
40 Gig of space. Contrast exhibits healthy, rich
black levels and I suggest that the image quality is
essentially perfect - in fact, I don't think the screen
captures do it justice. In-motion this is very film-like and
feels like you are stepping into the past seeing it
theatrically - some 60-years ago. This
Blu-ray
gets top mark for the video rendering. I was expecting it to
improve beyond the DVDs - but not this much. I think many
fans will swoon.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio :

Audio sports a
lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 at 3207 kbps. Certainly not a mix that
would result in any deft separations but Alfred Newman's score (also
available to hear as an 'isolated track' option) has some real depth
that was never present on the DVD versions. Obviously the film is
dialogue-centric but, predictably the HD track has everything crisp and
clear - really flawless. Along with plenty of foreign language DUB
options we also get a stack of subtitle choices in a white font (see
sample below).

My Momitsu
has identified
it as being a region FREE disc playable on
Blu-ray
machines worldwide and suspect this will be the exact same disc as sold
throughout the world (perhaps not with the same Digi-book packaging
though).

Extras :

Extras
duplicate the supplements available in the
Two-Disc Special Edition (also available as part of
The Bette Davis Centenary Celebration Collection reviewed
HERE). This includes the 2 good commentaries, about 1 1/2 hour's
worth of featurettes (two on Mankiewicz and an AMC Backstory) plus "The
Real Eve", "The Secret of Sarah Siddons" pieces and MovieTone
News etc. What we appear lose is the 'Restoration Comparison' but we
gain are two short promotions for Davis and Baxter and the nicely
appointed 26 -page Digibook with essays and photos case. Stacked indeed.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm so happy to report that Fox has done a miraculous job on this
package. It is so satisfying to have this masterpiece on
Blu-ray. I had my best ever viewing of this film - that I've seen
at last 1/2 a dozen times - in this HD transfer. Wow - it
was such a stirring experience. I don't know what more
extras they could have added and overall I rate this as,
possibly, my favorite
Blu-ray of the early year. Bette Davis has come to
Blu-ray! Fans can buy with extreme confidence!

Gary Tooze

January 21st, 2011

About the Reviewer:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500
DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 myself. I appreciate my
discussion Listserv for furthering my film
education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver.
Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.